Creating long-term benefits in cleft lip and palate volunteer missions

The authors present their experience with 15 years of organizing cleft lip and palate surgical volunteer missions in Latin America. The history, basic principles, and objectives of Operation San Jose, a volunteer goodwill pro gram from Christus St. Joseph Hospital in Houston, Texas, are covered. This report addresses the different problems encountered and solutions found. Following the principles set by Operation San Jose, CIRPLAST is a Peruvian foundation for plastic surgery that travels to remote areas in Peru, operat ing on patients with cleft lip and palate deformities. This report highligh ts the importance of working with local plastic surgeons and their resident s, and emphasizes that the program should be organized by and the operation s performed by accredited plastic surgeons and with the auspices and suppor t of the national plastic surgery society and the local medical board. Operation San Jose promotes the creation of long-term benefits by offering a program to teach local surgeons cleft lip and palate repair techniques an d to set up guidelines to organize local surgeons so that they can continue this effort by treating their own patients in their own countries.